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Dramatic victory after an eleven-meter penalty shootout in the tournament final against Ivory Coast allowed the hosts, Egyptian footballers, to become the African Cup of Nations winners for a record fifth time.
Egypt 0 - 0 Ivory Coast
(Egypt won 4-2 in the penalty shootout)
The main game in front of 75 thousand spectators ended in a draw, while the hero of the penalty shootout was Egypt's national team goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, saving decisive shots from "Chelsea" star Didier Drogba and his attacking partner in the national team, Aruna Koné.
Nevertheless, Egypt could have won even without the penalty shootout, if team captain Ahmed Hassan had successfully converted the penalty kick awarded by the referee from Tunisia in extra time, which the BBC referred to as "one of the most controversial in the history of the Cup of Nations."
Still, Ivory Coast footballers can hardly blame the referee for bias, as with seven minutes left until the end of regular time, he disallowed Amr Zaki's goal into Ivory Coast's team's gates.
